Elevator-door-operating mechanism



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INVENTOILl M MM ATTORNEYS w W WEEKS ELEVATOR-DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM lFiled oci. 18. 19a-3 Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM WALLACE WEEKS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIG-NOR TO ELEVATOR SUP- PLIES COMPANY, INC., A CORPORATION F NEW JERSEY.

ELEVATOR-DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application filed October 18, 1923. SeriaIvNo. 669,268.

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM WALLACE WEEKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at 366 Fourth St., Brooklyn, N. Y., have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Elevator-Door-Operating Mechanism, of which the folowing is a clear, full, and exact description.

The present invention relates to improvements in elevator door operators, and more particularly to improvements inr cushioning means for elevator door operating devices.`

The invention is particularly adapted to be app-lied to fluid pressure operated means in vwhich cushioning action is attained on both the up and down stroke of the piston in the cylinder. -The invention may alsor be applied to dash-pots or other cushioning devices vin general .wherever a similar action is desired. f

In fluid pressure operated devices heretofore employed for operating elevator doors, cushioning action is satisfactorily accomplished during normal operation of elevator doors, that is, when thel elevator door is opened or closed in one continuous stroke. lVhen', however, the door has been opened andthe return stroke has been initiated, there is no oil or cushioning fluid behind the plunger in the plunger cylinder, and if the door is then returned to the full open position after partial closing as, for enample, when. another passengerv is to be taken on before closing the door, there is no oil in the upper part of the plunger to cushion the partial return stroke, and consequently the door returns to the full open position with'a slam. f

It is the primary object of the'present invention to provide a means in an apparatus of the kind above referred to whereby the slamming` or jarring effect is obviated when an elevator door, or similar device to be operated, is returned to the full open position after a partial closing thereof.

Another object of the invention is to improve the normal operation of an elevator door opening and closing means so as to avoid all jar and to attain a smooth operation throughoutythe opening and lclosing strokes ofthe mechanism. 'I

With these and other objects in view, the

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invention comprises the device hereinafter fully described and more particularly defined in the claims.y

In the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention- .Fig. 1 is a View in elevation of the device;

Fig. 2 is a art sectional view-taken on the line 2-2 of ig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Referring' more particularly to the drawings, 1 designates a cylinder casing in which is a piston 2 which is attached to a sleeve 4 which passes upwardly through the head 6 of the cylinder. The sleeve 4 is attached to a plunger rod 8 whichmay be directly connected to mechanism to be operated, such as the toggle levers attached to an elevator door. To the piston 2 is connected a leather washer 10 which is outwardlyfexpanded by means of a follower 12 whichvis attached to the piston 2 by suitable means such as set screws, for example, as sho-wn in the drawmg.

In order to provide for cushioning the movements of the lpiston and parts attached thereto, a suitable dash-pot or dampening means is operatively connected to the device. The cushioning means could be made entirely separate from the pneumatic cylinder, but I prefer to embody the cushioning means in one unit to attain a construction which may be manufactured at a low cost and which may be easilyl installed. The dampening means comprises a casing 14, preferably attached to the cylinder l by screw threaded connect-ions, to which is attached an inner wall 16 which is connected at its base to the casing 14 and extends or projects downwardly from the point of connection thereto to provide a cylinder in which a plunger 18, attached to the plunger rod 8, may operate. To the lower end of the wall 16 is attached a cap or head 2O having a lug 22 thereony which may be attached to aA bracket or other suitable means when the cylinder is mounted. The plunger rod 8 passes upwardly through a bushing 24 by means of which the oil or other cushioning liquid is retained in the plunger cylinder.

In substantially the mid-portion of the cushioning cylinderv or wall 16 is an enlarged portion having a` length referably slightly greater than the lengt of the plunger 18, by means of which oil or other liquid may pass around the plunger in its movement through this section of the cylinv der. The enlarged portion 30 of the cylinder is connected by 4means of a passageway 26 in the walls of the cylinder 16 to the lower portion of the cylinder, by means of which liquid may pass forward and backward between said sections of the cylinder during the movements of the plunger 18 therein. In order to regulate the movements of the plunger and tne parts attached thereto, a regulating screw 28 is provided, by means of which the passage 26 is restricted so as to attain any desired amount of resistance to the passage of the liquid therethrough. At the point of connection between the casing 14 and the cylinder wall 1 is preferably placed a perforated dia-phragni 32 by mea-ns of which upward passage of liquid, or splashing of liquid into the cylinder casing 1, .is prevented. The diaphragm 32 is preferably placed in a recess 34 in the wall 14 and is held in position by means of a plate 36 having a downwardly extending wall on which is a threaded portion adapted to screw into a corresponding thread in the interior portion of the wall 16 and to-thereby rigidly hold ythe diaphragm in place. The bushing 24 may be conveniently held in place by means of the downwardly eX- tending walls from the plate 36, as shown in the drawing. Between the walls 16 and 14 is a reservoir 88 which coi'mnunicates with the enlarged portion 30 by means of a passageway 40 in the wall 16.- The upper portion of the interior of the cylinder 16 communicates with the reservoir 38 by means of a horizontal passageway 42. The opening of the passage leading to the reser- Voir 38 is restricted by means of a valve 44 adapted to serve the same function as the regulating` screw 28 to regulate the passage of liquid therethrough, 4but 'which .is adapted to yield when the pressure of the liquid in the upper portion of the cylinder 16 exceeds a predeteri'iiined amount. To attain this object, the valve is held ,in position by means of a spring 46, the tension ot which may be regulated by the regulating screw 48. During the operation of the apparatus, any sudden pressure of liquid passing through the passageway 42 to rthe reservoir 38 will cause the valve 44 to open, whereby ithe pressure in excess of lthat supplied lby the sprinG- 46 will be relieved and will thus prevent any sudden jar in the movements ofthe plunger 18 in the upper portion of the plunger cylinder.

In order that liquid may bc supplied above the plunger in the plunger cylinder as soon as the plunger 18 moves downwardly from the top tof the cylinder, corresponding vto a .partial retunn ofthe elevator door from full open position, so as to provide for immediate cushioning action should the door be ireturned yto full yopen position `before closing, a by-pass 50 is provided in ithe `walls of -the .plunger cylinder 16, leading by the val-ve 44 into the reservoir 38. `the passage of oil rthrough the :passageway from the passageway 49 to the passageway 42. In this by-pass is a ball check vvalve 52 which may be held in position by means of a suitable retaining means 54 extending downwardly into the upper portion of the passageway to retain theball 52 in proximity to its seat. The check valve serves to prevent the passa-ge of liquid downwardly through the Eby-pass 5() but permits flow upwardly therethrough to supply liquid from the reservoir 38 or the portion 30 of the cylinder to the upper part thereof'whenthe plunger moves downwardly therefrom.

In order 'to automatically operate the piston and parts attached thereto, air or 'other pressure fluid is supplied to thecylinder by means of one or more pipes '56, 58, as indicated more particularly :in Eig. 1. I'f only one pipe is 4'to be Aemployed for supplying pressure 'Huid to the cylinder, the -pi-pe not in use may be closed by means-of a valveior set screw, orother equivalent means.

The operationofathe device is as follows:

lhen the elevator door is in closed position the piston 2 is at the lower end of the cylinder 1 and the plunger 18 isat the lower end of the plunger cylinder 16. 7When :the elevator door is to lbe opened, pressure fluid is admitted from one or `both of the pipes 56, 58 through a suitable regulating valve, and the piston is forced upwardly against pressure of a Spring 60 causing operation of the toggle levers a-nd :the opening of the elevator door. lDuring the upward movement of the piston 2 the plunger 18, operatively attached to Rthe piston moves upwardly inthe cylinder :16 and causes oil, or other liquid therein, to fiiow at first from the enlarged portion 3() through the restricted passage 26 to the bottom ofthe -plunger cylinder, and then after the plunger Apasses `the mid-portion or enlarged :portion 30and reaches the upper portion of `the plunger cylinder, oil which lis eutrapped above the plunge-r is forced through the passage T42 -y 42, the ball 52 is forced to its seat in the passageway 50, and prevents 'passage of oil therethrough. By the passage of oil tlnfough the restricted passageway 42, the movement of the plungerland pants attached thereto is cushioned, whereby .the movement of the elevatorldoor is properly slowe up at the end of its .opening movement, and jarring or slamming 'is fthus avoided.

The lvalve controlling the supply offluid pressure to :the operating cylinder is held open luntil yit lis desired #to -c'lose the ,elevator door. The valve is then turned to exhaust position, whereby exhaust of pressure fluid Ifrom the cylinder -wi-ll take :place eiither to an exhaust .pipe yor `directly into A.the :atmosphere, if desired. rllhe piston 2 :and the plunger 18 then forced ,downwardly by y downward movement of the plunger 1 8from the top of the plunger' cylinder, a i'eductioii in pressure above the plunger takes place, and oil passes upwardly through the passageway 50 by the ball 52, and through the4 passage 42 into the plunger cylinder above the plunger 18. If. before the completion of the return stroke ofthe plunger 18, the'valve controlling the admission of pressure fluid to the cylinder 1 is turned to again admit pressure fluid to the cylinder Vso as to return the elevator door gto its full open position,

f the fluid pressure acting through the perforations in the diaphragm 32 to the top of the liquid in the reservoir 38 assists in forcing the oil upwardlyvthrough the passage 50 to the portion of the plunger cylinder above the plunger 18. The liouid above the plunger then allows the door tov bcopened with proper cushioning, so that no jarring in the movements of the piston andthe parts attached thereto takes place. Any sudden excess pressure of oil above the plunger will be relieved by means of the valve 44, which will operate to allow passage of oil through the'passage 42 to the reservoir 38, as has been eX lained. i

y regulating the position of the regula-tino' screws 28` and 48, the flow of oil through the passageways 26 and 42 may be controlled to any desired extent and any desired amount of cushioning action mav be thus attained. Furthermore, any'pressureof the ope-rating fluid within certain limits may be used whereby any desired speed of action of the mechanism may be attained. VIt is to be understood, however, that the size and force of the spring 60 must be proportionedto correspond substantially with the pressure of fluid supplied to thecylinder 1 so that the apparatus may be 'operated against the Spring pressure with hev particular fluid pressure used, and the spriiigmust be de signed to operate so as to return the iston and partsthereto to the closed positionof theelevator door within a predetermined time.

It is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of the device to attain substantially they saine results, without departing from the spirit or scope of the. invention. I do not desire to be limited, therefore, to the form of the invention described, except as liereinafter defined in the claims. Y

Having thus described the invention, whaty is claimed as new is:

1. In a cushioning device adapted for cushioning the movements of elevator door operating mechanisms, a cylinder, a plunger in said cylinder, a passage-way communicating Abetween the upper yportion of said cylinder and a lower portion thereof, and ay by-pass connecting said passageway with lower portion of the cylinder, permitting the passage of fiuid to the upper portion of said cylinder to attain cushioning action of saidy mechanism Wlien'said plunger is ie turned to the upper portion of said cylinder after a limited movement'toward the lower portion thereof.

2i. In a cushioning device, a cylinder, a

plunger in said cylinder, a passageway in the walls of said cylinder, a reservoir communicating with said passageway, means for regulating the flow from the cylinder through said passageway'to said reservoir, means for relieving pressure in said cylin der and said passageway,` and means VV for supplying oil to the said cylinder fromsaid reservoir when said plunger' initiates 'movement from one end of said cylinder.

3. In a cushioningv device, a cylinder, a

plunger in said cylinder, a passageway leading from one end of said cylinder to an intermediate portion thereof, a relief valve in said passageway, al valve seat in said passageway, a spring mounted on said valve to hold the valve under pressure against said seat, and means for regulating the tension of said spring to maintain a liquid in said cylinder under a predetermined pressure.

4.7In a cushioning device, a cylinder, a

plunger in said cylinder, a passageway inl the walls of said cylinder communicatingl with one end thereof, a reservoir' external to thev said cylinder and communicating with said passageway, a relief valve in said passagewav to limit the pressure of fluid in said' cylinder, means for regulating the re lief pressure of vsaid valve, a by-pass connecting said reservoir with `said passageway at a point therein intermediate said relief valve and said end of thecylinder, and a valve in said by-pass to permit flow there through only in the direction of saidA cylinder' end.

5. In a cushioning device for elevator door operating mechanisms, a cylinder, a

f plunger in said cylinder, a passageway communicating between the upper portion of said cylinder and a lower portion thereof, means for regulating the passage of fluid through said passageway, a by-pass communicating between a lower portion of'said cylinder and a pointin said passagewayintermediate said regulatingy means and said upper 4portion of the cylinder, and means for attaining unidirectional flow in lsaid bypass to the upper portionof said cylinder whereby fluid may rapidly pass to the upper portion of said cylinder whensuddenly required to attain cushioning action. 6. In a cushioning device for elevator operating mechanisms, a cylinder, a plunger of said. cylinder and a portion intermediate tlf) iiok

lin said cylinder, passageways communicat- Y ingbetween the upper and lower portions( between said portions, means for regulating the passage of fluid through said passageways, a ley-pass connecting an intermediate portion of the cylinder with the upper portion thereof, a check valve in said ley-pass to permit flow of fluid therethrough to the upper lportion of said cylinder during downward movement of said plunger, and to prevent passage of fluid therethrough during the upward movement of said plunger.

7. In a cushioning device, a cylinder, a plunger in said cylinder, a passage leading from the lower end Iof said cyllinder to mid-portion thereof, a second passage leading from the upper end of said cylinder to a mid-portion thereof, regulating screws in said passages Eto regulate the passage of fluid therethrough, a :third passage communicating between a mid-portion of said cylinder andthe upper portion of said `cylinder to permit passage of ffluid -fto said upper portion when the plunger moves downwardly from the upper portion of the cylinder, whereby cushioning action may be attained should the plunger, y,in its `downward stroke,

` be returned to the upper portion of the cylinder before reaching 'the intermediate portion thereof.

8. In a cushioning device, a cylinder, a plunger Ain said cylinder, a passage leading from the lower end of said cylinder to an intermediate portion thereof, means for regulating the passage of fluid therethrough, a second passage leading from :the upper end of said cylinder to an intermediate portion thereof, means for regulating the passage of :fluid through the last-named passage whereby cushioning of said plunger is attained during the normal upward and downward strokes from the intermediate portion of said cylinder, an auxiliary passageway communicating with the upper portion of said cylinder, to supply cushioning fluid at the beginning o-f ythe return stroke of said plunger from the upper portion `of said cylinder, means for preventing return flow [through said passageway, whereby cushioning of said plunger maybe attained should the plunger be again moved toward .the upper end of said cylinder before reaching the mid-portion thereof, at which point fluid would normally pass above said plunger to supply cushioning Huid for the upward movement thereof.

9. `In a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, means for connecting one of said parts to a mechanismto be operated, cushioning means operatively `connected to said mechanism to be operated, comprising` a casing, a plunger in said casing, a passageway lin said casing for `the passage of Afluid from one portion thereof to another, means for Aregulating the passage olf-fluid therein, and a 1oy-pass connecting said passageway to another-portion of said casing to permit passage of fluid through said passageway when said plunger is moved in said casing away from said passageway.

10. In a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, means for connecting one of said parts `to a mechanism to be operated, cushioning means operatively connected to said mechanism to be operated, comprising a casing, a plunger in the casing, oil passages leading from the ends of said casing to an intermediate portion thereof, means for regulating the rpassage of fluid through said passages, a bypass from said intermediate portion of the cylinder to one of said passages leading to the upper yportion of said-casing, means forcausing unidirectional flow of fluid therein to the vupper portion of said casing, `whereby cushioning fluid may be maintained at both -ends of said casing irrespective of the movements of said plunger therein.

Il. In a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston in the cylinder, means 4for attaching one of the parts to a mechanism to be operated, cushioning means comprising a plunger cylinder having a liquid therein, a plunger in said plunger cylinder, restricted passageways in said plunger cylinder to control the passage of liquid from one portion of the plunger cylinder to another and to thereby cushion vthe movements of said mechanism, a reservoir, a passageway communicating between 'the upper portion of said plunger cylinder and saidreservoir, a check valve in the last-named passageway to attain unidirectional flow ltherein 'to the upper portion of said plunger cylinder.

12. I-n a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston in the cylinder, means for attaching one of the parts to a mechanism to Vbe operated, cushioning means comprising a plunger cylinder having-aliquid therein, a plunger adapted `to operate in said plunger cylinder, yrestricted passageways in said plunger cylinder to control the passage of liquid from one portion thereof to another, to cushion the movements of said mechanism, a reservoir, a passageway communicating between ythe upper portion of said vplunger cylinder and said reservoir, a check valve therein permitting flow of liquid `to the upper portion of said plunger cylinder and preventing `flow therein opposite thereto, means to prevent passage of liquid in aggregate from said reservoir to said cylinder, and a conduit connected vto said cylinder for supplying pressure fluid `thereto above said last-named means.

13. In a device of the class described, a cylinder, piston in the cylinder, means for connecting one of said parts to a mechanism `to ybe operated, means for admitting pressure fluid below said piston to cause moveA 13 ment thereo, spring means in said Cylinder above said piston adapted to resist upward movement of said piston and to return said piston when said iuid pressure under the piston is released, a liquid-containing chamber operatively connected to said mechanism to be operated, a plunger in said chamber, passageways vcommunicating between the upper and lower portions or' said chamber and a portion intermediate thereof, means for regulating the passage of fluid through said passageways, a by-pass connecting an intermediate portion of the chamber with the upper portion thereof, a cheek Valve in i said by-pass permitting flow of fluid therethrough to the upper portion of said chamber when said plunger is moved downwardly therefrom, and to prevent the passage of fluid therethrough during the upward movement of said plunger, whereby cushioning action is attained by the flow of Huid through one of said passageways.

Signed at New York, N. Y., this 15th day of October, 1923. l

WILLIAM WALLACE WEEKS. 

